Appeal of Free Theater regarding Beatings and Arrests of Belarusians after Presidential Election Has Been Supported by More Than Hundred of Theatric Activists Including Former President of Czech Republic Vaclav Gavel

Appealof the collective of the Belarusian Free Theater to artistic unions, theatric collectives and theatric activists

During the latest weeks in Belarus there have taken place the events that couldn’t leave unmoved not only the country’s citizens, but any person in the world that values the ideals of freedom above all.

The Belarusian citizens who went out to the streets of Minsk these days demanded from the authorities to hold a free, transparent and fair election. In response to these legal demands, the authorities used against peaceful protesters truncheons, tear gas, smoke cartridges and noise grenades. During the last two weeks in Belarus there have been detained and sentenced to different times of arrest about a thousand persons; dozens of people were injured, hundreds were beaten.

During these days many theatric actors were near their compatriots. They replaced one another in the tent camp in Kastrychnitskaia Square of Minsk, participated in peaceful actions of protest and tried to support their compatriots. They shared the fate of hundreds of other repressed Belarusians.

Valery Mazynski: stage director, founder of the theater of Belarusian dramaturgy Volnaia Scena (Free Stage) was sentenced to 10 days of jail;Pavel Kharlanchuk, stage director and actor of Gorky National dramatic theater - 10 days of jail;Sviatlana Suhaka, musician, assistant of stage director of Free Theater - 7 days of jail;Iryna Iarashevich, assistant of stage director of Free Theater - beaten by the police;Ian Paniutsich, musician - fired from work.

We apply to the people dealing with theatric activity all over the world and ask: express your solidarity!

Your support will help the Belarusian theatric activists to feel a part of the world theatric process.

Your attention to the people who live and have to create under the &#8216;Last dictatorship in Europe’ can move the governments of civilized states to pressurization of the present Belarusian regime and making it to respect human rights.

Your solidarity will help to escape new victims on the way to the pale of democratic Europe.